In this poignant and disturbing memoir of lost innocence,
coercion, survival, and healing, Dianne Lake chronicles
her years with Charles Manson, revealing for the first
time how she became the youngest member of his Family and
offering new insights into one of the twentieth century’s
most notorious criminals and life as one of his "girls."

At age fourteen Dianne Lake—with little more than a note
in her pocket from her hippie parents granting her
permission to leave them—became one of "Charlie’s girls,"
a devoted acolyte of cult leader Charles Manson. Over the
course of two years, the impressionable teenager endured
manipulation, psychological control, and physical abuse
as the harsh realities and looming darkness of Charles
Manson’s true nature revealed itself. From Spahn ranch
and the group acid trips, to the Beatles’ White Album and
Manson’s dangerous messiah-complex, Dianne tells the
riveting story of the group’s descent into madness as she
lived it.

Though she never participated in any of the group’s
gruesome crimes and was purposely insulated from them,
Dianne was arrested with the rest of the Manson Family,
and eventually learned enough to join the prosecution’s
case against them. With the help of good Samaritans,
including the cop who first arrested her and later
adopted her, the courageous young woman eventually found
redemption and grew up to lead an ordinary life.

While much has been written about Charles Manson, this
riveting account from an actual Family member is a
chilling portrait that recreates in vivid detail one of
the most horrifying and fascinating chapters in modern
American history.